KANSAS CITY — A class-action lawsuit was filed against Molson Coors Beverage Company USA alleging it misled consumers with the marketing of its canned cocktail.
Markus Dixon and Deanna Mahan filed the lawsuit claiming the misleading nature of "Mimosa Hard Seltzer" is compounded by the fact that the amount of real orange juice is minimal, despite the product's claims and packaging suggesting otherwise, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Western Division.
The plaintiffs claim this misrepresentation results in the product being sold at a premium price, higher than similar products that accurately reflect their ingredients.
The plaintiffs claim the mimosa was created by Frank Meier at the Ritz Hotel in Paris in 1925 and included equal parts orange juice and champagne, as well as an ice cube.
Later, Meier's proteges began to substitute sparkling wines in various regions for the champagne, according to the suit.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, canned cocktails began to emerge, as consumers were staying home. The defendant created and marketed its Mimosa Hard Seltzer, placing it in orange packaging with pictures of oranges and describing it as "Made With Real Orange Juice" under its Vizzy brand, however, unlike traditional mimosas, it lacks sparkling wine.
Instead, the plaintiffs claim, it contains sparkling water and cane sugar as the base alcohol, classifying it as a beer under regulatory definitions, not a mimosa.
The plaintiffs claim the product's name, packaging and marketing suggest it is a mimosa, yet it lacks the key ingredient of sparkling wine and the fine print on the ingredient list reveals that the beverage is made with sparkling water, cane sugar, natural flavors and a minimal amount of orange juice concentrate, rather than the traditional champagne or sparkling wine.
The plaintiffs claim consumers expect a mimosa to be made with wine-based alcohol, but "Mimosa Hard Seltzer" uses alcohol derived from fermented sugar, qualifying it as a beer.
This distinction, they argue, is not clearly communicated on the packaging, leading consumers to believe they are purchasing a mimosa-like drink, according to the suit.
The plaintiffs claim the term "Hard Seltzer" does not uniformly describe the product's nature, contributing to consumer confusion. While some hard seltzers are made with distilled spirits or malted barley, others, like this product, are based on fermented sugar, and, the lack of consistency in labeling hard seltzers adds to the misunderstanding about the product’s true nature.
"Defendant’s false and deceptive representations and omissions with respect to the Product’s contents, attributes, features, origins, amount, quantity, ingredients, and/or quality, that it would contain sparkling wine and/or more than a de minimis amount of orange juice, are material in that they are likely to influence consumer purchasing decisions," the complaint states.
The plaintiffs claim the defendant violated the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and monetary damages. They are represented by Thomas A. Addleman of Addleman Law in Lee's Summit.
Attorneys declined to comment on the matter.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Western Division case number: 4:24-cv-00353